India

Unparliamentary conduct

Were Pakistanis involved?

SEPTEMBER 11th was far more devastating, but the attack on India's Parliament on December 13th will reverberate. How widely depends on the identities, still unknown on Thursday afternoon, of the half-dozen terrorists who began shooting while hundreds of politicians, including some of the country's leaders, were inside the building. None was hurt, but five policemen and all the terrorists were reportedly killed. The terrorists also planted a bomb, potentially much bloodier.

The assault put people in mind of an attack in October on the legislature of the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, a Muslim-majority state fought over by India and Pakistan. That attack, by car bomb as well as gunmen, looked like the work of Pakistan-based insurgents: one such group, Jaish-e-Muhammad, took responsibility for it, but later retracted the claim. If those who have now struck at the heart of India's polity turn out to have Pakistani connections, the consequences could be grave. Both countries have nuclear weapons and have fought three full-scale wars. India's patience with “cross-border terrorism” has worn noticeably thinner since the September 11th attacks. The latest outrage could strengthen hawks, who argue that India should retaliate George Bush-style against groups with bases in the part of Kashmir controlled by Pakistan and in Pakistan proper. To avert that, Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, may have to act against them himself.

India's home-affairs minister, L.K. Advani (a powerful hawk), described the attackers as fedayeen but pointed no immediate finger at Pakistan. India is home to plenty of other insurgents (nationalists in the north-east, for example, and Maoists in the middle) who have the motive and, maybe, the means.

The operation may end up strengthening the government it was meant to injure. Before it, the coalition led by the Bharatiya Janata Party was in trouble. The opposition was up in arms, ironically, over a proposed anti-terrorism law it regarded as draconian. The embattled government has been further embarrassed by reports of corruption in defence procurement, including the purchase of what look like wildly overpriced coffins for soldiers. The opposition was calling for the head of the defence minister, who had just been reappointed after resigning earlier this year over another arms-purchase scandal. The uproar paralysed Parliament for three days this week.

Now that Parliament has become the target of terrorism, the opposition will find it harder to argue against the government's plans for thwarting such acts. Over-priced coffins may seem less of a threat to national security. As Mr Bush has discovered, catastrophe can work wonders for a government's reputation.